


Tacky and Tasty

by justdk



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, Food, Halloween, M/M, Ugly Holiday Sweaters, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26954953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justdk/pseuds/justdk
Summary: Kevin, Neil, and Andrew take a weekend vacation to Charleston and buy some tacky sweaters and some tasty doughnuts.
Relationships: Kevin Day/Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 8
Kudos: 61





	Tacky and Tasty

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt from tumblr: Kandreil and tacky autumn sweaters

As far as weekend getaways go, this one is excellent. The house they rented has an enormous bed, big enough to fit the three of them comfortably with room to spare. It’s outside the city but only 15 minutes from downtown. The neighborhood is quiet and laidback. There’s even a tabby who comes to visit early in the morning while Andrew smokes on the back porch with Neil curled up next to him in the hammock, the two of them sharing a mug of too sweet coffee. Kevin, of course, sleeps as late as they’ll allow and wanders down around noon, cranky and hungry and clingy. And although they typically wouldn’t baby him, it’s vacation, so Neil pulls Kevin to the kitchen table, sits him down, climbs on his lap, and drapes himself over Kevin like a weighted blanket. Kevin sighs happily and wraps an arm around Neil’s waist, nuzzling into the side of his neck until Neil giggles, tickled by Kevin’s rough stubble. Andrew drops a plate of reheated breakfast leftovers on the table in front of Kevin like the world’s most surly waiter. Kevin eyes the plate of eggs, toast, and bacon, and looks at Andrew hopefully.

“I’m not fucking hand feeding you,” Andrew says, though he does pull up a chair and sit close enough that their knees brush under the table.

“Me either,” Neil adds. Both his arms are wrapped around Kevin’s waist and he’s too comfortable to move.

Kevin grumbles something unintelligible but starts eating. The chewing noises are loud in Neil’s ear and he’s fairly certain that Kevin is getting toast crumbs on his back but it doesn’t matter. This is their weekend off and they’re being as indulgent with each other as possible.

Once Kevin is done eating they all get ready for a day of being tourists. Andrew acts like he’s not excited. Neil is _definitely_ excited about the three of them spending time together. Kevin is the most excited and he should be because he’s the one who picked their destination – Charleston. He’s here for the history and has compiled a list of places that they _have to visit_. Neil just smiles and nods and climbs into the backseat with Kevin while Andrew drives them into the city. They listen to Kevin monologue and don’t even try to interrupt because at least, in Andrew’s opinion, he’s not going off about Exy.

They crawl along King Street before Andrew finds them a place to park and then they’re off. It’s a full afternoon of Kevin leading them around like Strider guiding the hobbits through the marshes (or, at least, that’s how Neil’s thinking about it). It starts getting dark way too soon for Kevin’s liking and he pitifully acknowledges that he’ll have to wake up early tomorrow if he wants to visit even half the places on his list. Andrew makes a snide comment about believing that when he sees it and Neil laughs. It’s true; Kevin is the worst about waking up.

Back in the heart of downtown they look for a place to eat that doesn’t have a huge line. Neil notices a pop-up store selling tacky sweaters and grabs Andrew’s sleeve, pulling him to a stop.

“Really?” Andrew sighs.

Neil nods. “It’s cold.” He shivers for emphasis and Andrew rolls his eyes. It’s not cold.

Kevin crowds up behind them and looks through the shop windows at the walls of sweaters. “Really?” he asks, echoing Andrew.

“Really,” Neil replies. He takes both of their hands and tugs them into the store.

Inside it’s bright and toasty and “The Monster Mash” is playing from the speakers. Several other groups of shoppers mosey through the store, exclaiming over the ridiculous sweaters. Neil grins and starts pawing through a rack, delighted that no two sweaters are the same and that they’re all incredibly ugly. He pulls out a black sweater about his size that has big fake leaves glued on with excessive amounts of gold sparkly paint.

“Honestly,” Andrew drawls, “this is why I dress you.”

Kevin starts half-heartedly looking through the selection, probably in the vain hope that he’ll find something Exy-related.

“We should make this a game,” Neil says. “We each pick the tackiest sweater we can find and then when we get back to PSU we’ll bet on which one Nicky will love the most.”

Andrew rubs his thumb over a heavily sequined sweater, considering. “Let’s get the whole team involved. I need some extra cash to replace however much one of these travesties costs.”

With that incentive in mind, Kevin starts looking more earnestly. Something about the team’s betting obsession really gets to his competitive side.

It takes longer than Neil would have expected to find the sweater that speaks to him. And maybe it’s not truly tacky – Neil used to wear clothes that Andrew deemed “repulsive” but he had worn them for years and thought they were _fine_ – but it’s what he wants. He takes it over to one of the mirrors and holds it up over his torso. It’s probably too big but it’s the only one; this store only sells thrifted sweaters. It’s knitted and bright orange with a black cat wearing a witch’s hat, smiling and saying, “Trick or Treat.” Fake leaves are stitched on in random places. On the back is another cat, this one riding on a broomstick saying, “Yeehaw!”

Andrew comes up behind him and eyes Neil critically. “Of course it would be orange,” he says with a sigh.

Neil shrugs. “Show me yours.”

“I definitely got you beat,” Andrew says with a small, smug smile. He holds up his sweater, a black turtleneck festooned with sequin and rhinestone candies, chocolates, and candy corn. It glints and glitters under the fluorescent lights.

Neil touches the sequins. “God, that’s horrible.”

“Right?” Andrew smirks.

Kevin wanders over, looking a bit dazed. “I don’t even know,” he admits faintly and shows them his selection. His is a soft grey cardigan that’s remarkably plain except for the huge buttons on the front. Each one is Halloween themed: a ghost, a witch, a cat, a skull, a zombie, and a vampire. It looks like something a sweet grandma would wear; it’s so small it’ll probably be a crop top on Kevin.

Andrew frowns. “Are you sure you’re going to fit into that?”

Kevin shakes his head. “That’s part of the tacky factor.”

They take their selections up to the register and Neil tries not to act so shocked by how expensive these ugly, second-hand sweaters are. Then it’s off to find food for Kevin. He selects a seafood restaurant and they crowd into the booth, sharing drinks and appetizers, talking loud to be heard over the rest of the chatter. Neil sits between Kevin and Andrew and sips at his Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale, feeling cozy and happy. Kevin’s cheeks are flushed and his voice is a bit too loud as he talks animatedly about pirates; under the table his large hand squeezes Neil's thigh. Andrew reaches across Neil to steal one of Kevin’s shrimp and when he settles back he drapes his arm along Neil’s shoulders so that he’s touching Kevin too. It’s nice. Really damn nice.

\-----

The next day, to Neil and Andrew’s surprise, Kevin wakes up with them and stumbles out of bed like a zombie. It’s such a rare occurrence that they pull him into the large and lovely shower and help him wake up and clean up before heading back to Charleston.

Maybe it’s their shared good mood or the weather or the new place, but they decide to wear their sweaters, just to try it out. Halloween’s only a few weeks off so it’s not like they’re seriously out of season, though Andrew maintains there’s no excuse to actually wear them in public. It’s a dare and it’s fun and Neil remembers how he thought Halloween was stupid and juvenile when he first came to PSU; now he sort of gets it. It’s a time when kids can play pretend and adults can be childish and it’s okay. It’s like a vacation from reality.

As Andrew predicted, Kevin’s cardigan is much too small, showing off half of his six-pack, his belly button, and his happy trail of dark hair. With it buttoned it’s so snug across his defined chest that there are large gaps between the buttons and Kevin’s nipples look painfully taut against the fabric. Neil snickers helplessly and Andrew takes a picture with his phone. Kevin plucks mournfully on the tight neckline.

“It’s like being in a straight jacket, I can’t move my arms,” he complains.

“Here.” Andrew tosses him a black V-neck T-shirt. “Wear that and leave your sweater unbuttoned.” He and Neil exchange a knowing look. “There’s no way we’re letting our boyfriend go out in public like that.”

Neil nods in agreement, which causes the neck of his over-large sweater to slide off his shoulder, revealing mottled scar tissue. He sighs and drags it back into place. But first he has to push the sleeves up because they’re hanging over his hands.

Kevin laughs. “You look like you’re wearing a sweater dress.”

Andrew, ever resourceful, digs through his bag of clothes and gives Neil a handful of silky black material. Neil holds up a pair of compression tights that he sometimes wears while running. He gives Andrew a look.

Andrew shrugs. “I like your legs. Besides, you can’t wear that sweater with those jeans.”

Of course Andrew’s turtleneck fits perfectly, tight and molded to his impressive arms and shoulders. Despite the colorful sequins and rhinestones he looks like the last person you’d ask for candy.

Finally they’re ready to head out. Andrew finds the same lot where they parked yesterday but this time he leads them up the street, ignoring Kevin’s protests. He guides them to a small, gourmet doughnut shop. There’s a line but they don’t mind since they need a moment to review the extensive menu. Kevin makes a despairing face and Neil looks overwhelmed. Andrew points at a table by the window.

“Go get us seats,” he tells them, “I’ll order.”

Seats secured, they watch as Andrew makes he way up to the register. They’re attracting looks with their tacky sweaters and it sort of makes Neil nervous but he leans into Kevin and keeps his focus on Andrew. Kevin hugs Neil to him and mutters, “Would it kill them to have some protein on the menu? Or a fruit.”

Neil grimaces. “I think all the fruits are covered in glaze or chocolate.”

Andrew places the order and comes back with three paper cups for to-go coffees and a large box of doughnuts. Kevin guards the table while Neil goes with Andrew to the self-service counter and they fix up their coffees: black for Kevin, milk for Neil, milk and too many sugars for Andrew. Neil smiles fondly.

Andrew catches him looking. “What?”

“Nothing.” Neil grins. “You look good in that sweater.”

“You look good out of yours.”

Neil laughs, blushing a little, and they rejoin Kevin.

“I’m afraid to look,” Kevin admits as Andrew reaches to open the box.

“You should be.” Andrew’s smile is all teeth. He opens the box with a flourish.

Inside is a decadent spread of doughnuts. Andrew starts listing them off: smores, pumpkin, pumpkin smores, maple bacon, apple bacon fritter, pumpkin pie, caramel corn, and strawberry stuffed French toast.

“Andrew…” Kevin groans and covers his face with his hands.

“Relax,” Andrew says, picking out the maple bacon doughnut and passing it to Kevin. “One doughnut won’t kill you. Look, this one has bacon on it.”

Kevin tries a bite and his eyes go wide. “Um. Damn.”

Andrew’s face is so smug that Neil has to laugh.

Andrew selects the strawberry stuffed French toast doughnut for Neil. It’s covered in light pink glaze, powdered sugar, and little crumbs, with half a strawberry positioned in the center. Neil holds it carefully, already spilling powdered sugar onto his black tights. He takes a bite and flavor explodes in his mouth. It’s so _sweet_ but creamy, too, and exactly like French toast. Some of the creamy filling oozes out as he takes another bite, sliding down between his fingers. Neil sets down the doughnut and reaches for a napkin but Andrew stops him, his fingers around Neil’s wrist. He guides Neil’s hand over, raising his fingers to his lips, and licks the cream off of Neil’s hand, his warm tongue sliding between Neil’s fingers.

Neil’s face goes bright red and he squirms a little, wide eyes locked onto Andrew’s mouth. Kevin is also blushing, and crosses his long legs under the table with a muttered, “Jesus, Andrew.”

Andrew takes his time cleaning Neil up and leans back with a satisfied lick of his lips.

“Tasty, right?” He asks. His smile is pure evil as he calmly picks up the smores doughnut and takes a big bite, smearing chocolate and marshmallow over his lips.

“Oh my god,” Neil groans. “Why are you like this.”

“Halloween mischief,” Andrew replies. He gestures to the remaining doughnuts, half of which are cream filled. “And look, we have leftovers. Whatever shall we do?”

Kevin and Neil exchange a look, their faces alight with matching expressions of fond exasperation and building excitement. Kevin leans in and licks a bit of marshmallow off of Andrew’s cheek.

“I guess we’ll find out.”

Neil plucks at his sweater, scattering crumbs. “We’ll probably need to take these off first so they don’t get dirty.”

Andrew grins.

**Author's Note:**

> Did I have to hold back from going overboard with the doughnut scene? YES (I'm a disaster lol) The doughnut shop is Glazed Gourmet Doughnuts and the doughnuts listed are from their current menu. Every November for the last four years I’ve gone to YALLFest in Charleston, SC. During my visits I always make sure to get coffee and a vegan doughnut from Glazed and hit up the tacky Christmas sweater store. Anyways, I think Neil, Kevin, and Andrew would like this city and find things to enjoy. The doughnuts don’t really fit the prompt but ummm I made some filled pastries this week and got ideas…


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